B.B.A. LL.B. (Five Years) Sem 2 Principles and Practice of Management 2013 Jun Question Paper with Solutions

For full marks, cover: what management is, with definitions (Fayol, Koontz and Weihrich) and its essential characteristics; the importance of management to the enterprise, to employees and to society, with examples; the scope of management in its several senses (subject matter, functional areas, kinds of organisation, levels); a table; and a conclusion.

What is management?

Management is the process of getting work done through people. It plans, organises, staffs, directs and controls their efforts and the use of resources. The aim is that the objectives of an organisation are achieved efficiently and effectively.

1. Henri Fayol (1916): "To manage is to forecast and plan, to organize, to command, to co-ordinate and to control."
2. Harold Koontz and Heinz Weihrich describe management as the process of designing and maintaining an environment. In it, individuals working together in groups efficiently accomplish selected aims.

Example: two hotels of similar size and location earn very different profits. One plans its bookings, trains its staff and controls costs, while the other does not.

3. Efficiency and lower cost. Planning, sound methods and control reduce waste, idle time and losses. Lower costs allow competitive prices.

4. Co-ordination. Management harmonises the work of departments such as production, sales and finance, which might otherwise pull in different directions.

5. Facing change and competition. Management studies the market, foresees change and adapts the enterprise in time. It helps the enterprise survive and grow against competitors.

6. Sound organisation. Management creates a clear structure of duties, authority and relationships, avoiding confusion and conflict.

B. To employees

7. Fair rewards and good conditions. Good management offers fair pay, safe working conditions and welfare facilities.

8. Growth and satisfaction. Training, promotion and recognition help employees develop and feel valued.

3. techniques such as budgeting, costing, network analysis, work study, quality control and information systems;
4. the study of human behaviour at work: motivation, leadership, communication and groups.

2. Functional areas of business. Management applies to every department:

1. production: planning and controlling output, quality and maintenance;
2. marketing: research, product, price, distribution and promotion;
3. finance: raising, investing and controlling funds;
4. human resources: recruitment, training, appraisal, pay and relations;
5. materials: purchase, storage and stock control;
6. research and development: new products and processes;
7. office and information: records, communication and data.

3. Kinds of organisation. Management is needed not only in business but in government departments, hospitals, schools and universities, banks, the armed forces, religious bodies, clubs and charities. This wide application is the universality of management.

An example

A cooperative dairy shows both the importance and the scope of management. Its board sets goals for milk collection and prices (top level), and its managers plan collection routes, processing and sales (middle level). Its supervisors direct collection centres (lower level). Managers handle production, marketing, finance and staff. Good management raises farmers' incomes, supplies consumers with fresh milk and keeps the dairy financially sound.

Management in three senses

The word management is used in three related senses. As an activity, it means the process of planning, organising, staffing, directing and controlling. As a group of people, it means the managers of an organisation, as when we say that the management has announced a new policy. As a discipline, it means the body of knowledge taught in colleges and studied by managers. All three describe the same thing from different angles, and together they show how wide the subject is.

Efficiency and effectiveness

Management aims at two things at once. Efficiency means doing things right: getting the most output from the least input, with little waste. Effectiveness means doing the right things: choosing and reaching the right goals. An organisation can be efficient at making a product nobody wants, or effective in reaching goals at ruinous cost. Good management combines both, and this is a further reason for its importance. A manager is judged by both measures: the results achieved and the resources used to achieve them.

Conclusion. Management is the process of reaching organisational objectives efficiently and effectively through people. It is important because it makes resources productive and enterprises efficient and adaptable. It treats employees fairly and helps them grow, and it serves society and the nation. Its scope is wide. It covers a body of functions, principles, techniques and behavioural knowledge, every functional area of business, every kind of organisation and every level. Wherever people work together for a purpose, management is needed.